Iran Beach Soccer team advances to the semi-finals of Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup 2015 for a clash with Russia with a big third period marked by a brilliant hat trick from Ahmadzadeh.
The 5-2 win for Iran over Mexico had its ups and downs for both teams but it ended on an extremely high note for the Asian side. Iran took first blood and were well on their way to a blowout when Mexico turned things around and knotted things up, but Iran was helped by the pro-Iran crowd and drew on their energy and delighted the fans with a great defensive display as well as offensive showcase. The win gives Iran second place in the group and they will be heading to the semi-finals to play Russia in the last game of the day on Friday. The Mexican side were forced to try and come from behind in each match and could not pull off any of the comebacks but they will be playing in the consolation semis on Friday against the UAE.
Iran knew that if they could win their second straight match that they would be advancing to the semis but a very competitive and best team that CONCACAF, king of the confederation, had to offer was in their way. The obstacle for the Lions of the Atlas did not seem as daunting after they calmed their nerves and scored the first goal of the match. But the North American side was entirely in the fight and they hung strong after giving up the goal and going into the last minutes of the period, the score remained 1-0 for Iran. The on-field battles continued and the Tri Color saw their opportunities increase but nothing could be done with them and it was Iran who capitalized again, netting their second and taking that 2-0 lead into the first break. Mexico took the deficit as a challenge and started the second period on a different note and with a chip on their shoulder. The Mexicans hit home a beautiful header in the first minute of the second period, to cut the Iranian lead in half at 2-1. The Mexicans did not stop there and confused the Iran defense when they scored the equalizer, putting the score at 2-2. But then it was Mexico’s turn to get disoriented on defense when Iran scored their third goal on a great bicycle in traffic that someone got through to put the score at 3-2 for the Lions of the Atlas going into the final break.
Iran began the final period by trying desperately to get at least one insurance goal but it did not come in the early going as Mexico was employing their signature tight defense, though that limited their offensive ability at the same time. Iran was knocking on the door but with six minutes gone from the period, there were no goals to show for the effort. However, past the midway point in the frame, M. Ahmadzadeh scored his second goal to give Iran a seemingly safe cushion of two goals at 4-2. Mexico began to rush and looked for the offense that they had lacked thus far, but with the Iranian keeper, Hosseini, between the pipes, it was difficult to find goals, and that has almost always been the case for Iran’s’ opponents. The Iranians held off the Mexican attacks and the final score was 5-2 for Iran.
Goals: 0-1: M. Hassani, min. 9 (1); 0-2: A. Naderi, min. 8 (1); 1-2: G. Pichardo, min. 11 (2); 2-2: A. Villa, min. 8 (2); 2-3: M. Ahmadzadeh, min. 1 (2); 2-4: M. Ahadzadeh, min. 5 (3); 2-5: M. Ahmedzadeh, min. 5 (3).